


(don't) look over there or you'll be dead

by bunny_paw



Category: ONEUS (Band)
Genre: Abuse, Angst, Anxiety, Emotional/Psychological Abuse, Panic Attacks, Rape/Non-con Elements, Sorta slow burn?, hwanwoong needs a hug but no one knows, i am so sorry xion and hwanwoong, idk lol, im a terrible person for writing this, maybe? - Freeform, xion is an emotional wreck
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-06-10
Updated: 2020-09-08
Packaged: 2021-03-04 05:21:41
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Rape/Non-Con
Chapters: 6
Words: 7,536
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/24638263
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/bunny_paw/pseuds/bunny_paw
Summary: A new dance instructor is hired for ONEUS, one who appears to be a perfect fit for them. But this doesn't last for Xion and Hwanwoong, who both end up on the bad side of the new instructor, who blackmails them into keeping it a secret. Will someone notice and help Xion and Hwanwoong before it's too late? Or will they fall deeper into the pit?
Relationships: No Romantic Relationship(s)
Comments: 15
Kudos: 76





	1. Un

Xion doesn't know where he would be without his group members. He imagines it would be something like what is currently happening, currently getting screamed at by their dance instructor for not doing a move like the rest of his members. It isn't usually like this, Xion is typically pretty good as dancing. At least, good enough to not stand out in a bad way. And, to be fair, their dance instructor usually isn't like this, either. He's an amazing teacher who has helped Xion get to where he is today. But here he was, right in Xion's face as Xion tried to keep his calm and not burst into tears in the middle of dance practice.

"I've told you a million times, Xion; Keep your elbows out and at a 45 degree angle! I'm sick and tired of you being unable to keep up with your groupmates! If you keep this up, I will have to call the CEO to discuss your position on the team. I can't have someone like you on this team!"

Xion winced at his words. He agrees, he isn't the best at dancing, but it's not like he's awful. He tries his best and even has 1-on-1 practice with Hwanwoong every couple of days to get better. Quite honestly, it's unfair of him to yell at him like this! Xion should be furious! Yet, here he was, holding back tears that were threatening to spill, which would probably encourage even more yelling.

Luckily, Hwanwoong spoke up, saving Xion from that embarassment.

"I think that's unfair of you."

The dance instructor's face whipped to Hwanwoong, red with anger.

"Excuse me?"

"Xion works so hard. You think you can just tear all his hard work down because of a simple move that he could have already fixed if you hadn't yelled at him."

The dance instructor furrowed his eyebrows, shoulders tensing.

"Are you questioning me, Hwanwoong?"

"You don't have to do this, Hwanwoong!"

Xion whimpered, now scared of the look on the dance instructor's face. 

Hwanwoong smiled at Xion.

"Just because you won't speak up for yourself, doesn't mean I can't. Xion is an amazing dancer. You're the one not putting in effort, not him. I think you need to calm down. You aren't usually like this. Did something happen to a family member? Or maybe your girlfrie-"

Hwanwoong heard the slap before he felt it. Actually, the pain didn't hit until he was sprawled onto the floor clutching his cheek. Then came the shriek from, not Hwanwoong, but the rest of ONEUS.

"Holy shit!"

Ravn yelled, hand over his mouth in shock. What came next could only be described as chaos.

Leedo shoved their dance instructor away from Hwanwoong, who was currently being pampered by Keonhee and Seoho, who were frantically asking Hwanwoong is he was okay. Of course Hwanwoong was assuring them he was fine, but the grimace on his face said different. Ravn was momentarily frozen in shock, before dashing over to Leedo to help keep their dance instructor in place, despite their dance instructor, still visibly angry, thrashing around yelling about how disrespectful Hwanwoong is and how he is a little brat who needs to be taught a lesson. All the while, Xion was freaking out, not knowing what to do while also feeling guilty because this was all technically because of him.

\----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Two hours later, and ONEUS were waiting for their manager, who was currently talking to the CEO about the situation. Hwanwoong held an ice pack to his cheek, which was now turning an odd color that spread the entire length of his cheek. Xion was still calming down, laying in Seoho's lap with his hair being petted. The only member not present was Ravn, who was in the meeting with the CEO to act as an eyewitness due to the lack of cameras in the dance practice rooms.

"This is taking too damn long. We all know that he has to get fired. He hurt Hwanwoong totally unprovoked!"

Leedo exclaimed, pacing the room. He was visibly agitated, running his hands through his hair. Keonhee stood up and walked over to Leedo, grabbing the hand that was currently pulling at his hair. He gently pressed and circled his thumb as a way to calm Leedo down.

"Of course that's what's going to happen. He'll get what he deserves. But, getting angry will do nothing. Whatever happens, happens. We can't do anything about it. So why don't you come and sit down. Calm down."

Keonhee said with a gentle smile on his face. Leedo groaned and rubbed his face, before nodding. Keonhee lead Leedo over to the rest of the group, sitting down and slinging his arm around Leedo's shoulders and squeezing.

"I just wish there was something I could do. Being left alone in here in torture!"

Seoho laughed, earning weird glances from his teammates.

"Do you think Ravn is having any more fun in with the CEO? Thank god for him, because I know I wouldn't want to have to try and argue against the dance instructor."

Keonhee nodded.

"It is pretty hard to believe that he would ever do something like hit Hwanwoong. He's always been a great teacher and person."

Hwanwoong, looking worn out, nodded.

"And yet here we are."

He winced.

"Shit, it hurts to talk."

Leedo let out an angry sigh. It was obvious no one was happy with the situation. But, if the dance instructor didn't get fired, or even on probation, it wasn't like they could really do anything about it. It was one slap, which didn't seem like much, but when their dance instructor's hand hit Hwanwoong's face, there was no way for him to get respected by them ever again. Even if he was having a bad day, there was absolutely no reason he should have laid a hand on one of them, especially for a reason as minute as Hwanwoong sticking up for Xion. 

They all knew that, but would their CEO agree?

Just then, they all heard a door knob turn. Their heads snapped to the sound, and saw their manager and Ravn walk in with somber looks on their face.

Fuck.

**********************************************************************************************************************************************************************************

Thanks for reading! This is my first ever work, so criticism would be appreciated. But I hope you overall enjoyed it :)


	2. Deux

The room went silent as Ravn and their manager walked into it. The looks on their faces made it seem like something bad had happened in the meeting. There was no way the dance instructor got away with this, right? Not only did he hit Hwanwoong, but he also did it in a place where the mark would be visible, which means that there is a decent chance their fans would notice, which would cause huge distress for the company. The dance instructor acted carelessly, and he had to pay the price. 

The room stayed silent as they stood in front of the members who were eagerly awaiting for their manager to say anything to break the silence. After a couple of seconds, he spoke up.  
"I bet you all are anxious about what is going to happen, yes?"

They all nodded, a bit confused as to why he was taking so long to tell them. Just spit it out!

"Well, I have good and bad news. The good news is that your dance instructor was fired."  
He said calmly. It took a moment to register in their heads, but when it did they all cheered, happy he gets what he deserves.

"But,"  
He paused.  
"We don't have anyone to replace him as of right now. This means your comeback will have to be postponed until we are able to hire someone new. Until further notice, all dance practices will have to be self-headed by yourselves, since we simply don't have anyone who can temporarily fill in."

Although this wasn't he worst news in the world, everyone was excited for the upcoming comeback. The MV shooting was supposed to occur next week, and now they'll have to wait for who knows how long! Plus, they have to head their own practices! 

"That's so unfair, we didn't do anything wrong so why are we being punished, too?"  
Keonhee asked, with Leedo nodding in agreement next to him.

Ravn sighed.  
"Unfortunately, this was the best we could get in these circumstances. In the future, the company is planning on having backup teachers on call so this will never happen again."

"I suggest next time one of your teachers is acting harsher than usual to just bear it. Today we lost a great teacher and Hwanwoong got hurt all because of you all having to act righteous about everything."  
Their manager said, shocking the members.

Leedo stood up and glared at their manager.  
"But that's unfair! Why should we have to bear it when he was the one actin-"

"Quiet! You all should know better than to talk back to older people. We're going to let you go back to your dorm for today, and we'll let you, especially Hwanwoong, rest tomorrow as well. But the day after, you all better be at the company taking vocal lessons and leading your own dance practices. Your van in waiting at the front of the building. I'll see you in two days, then."  
And he just left the room, looking slightly angry, which he shouldn't have the right to be. Leedo was right, they did what they had to do to protect their maknae. It wasn't their fault their teacher went psycho on them.

Ravn faced the rest of ONEUS again.  
"As much as I hate to admit it, he's right. We can't be losing teachers left and right because they are having a bad day."  
He smiled at all of them, who were still feeling a bit emotional. Xion was still sniffling while Seoho ran his hand through his hair, Hwanwoong still held the ice pack to his face, and Keonhee and Leedo still appeared agitated, the latter moreso.  
"But, I just wanted to remind you all that none of this was your fault. Especially you, Xion. Everyone in this room knows how hard you work and how amazing of a dancer you've become."

That made Xion smile a little, although he was still a bit gloomy.

"The dance instructor was having a bad day for personal reasons. He proposed to his girlfriend of 10 months last night, and not only did she say no, but she also admitted to cheating on him with a much younger man and then broke up with him. It was his fault for coming into work with these personal problems still fresh in his brain, okay?"  
Ravn looked at everyone nodding, glad to see no one appeared to be beating themselves up over this situation.  
"Now, how about we go back to the dorms and relax for the rest of the day. How about a movie? And I'll make us popcorn. Any suggestions?"

This made the members, especially Xion, perk up. They rarely have movie nights anymore.

"I say we watch a Disney movie."  
Hwanwoong says, slightly wincing in pain.

Ravn nodded, happy since almost everyone, himself included, loves Disney movies.  
"I know we have Frozen, Moana, or Mulan on disc at home."

"There is no way I'm watching Frozen. That movie is annoying as hell."  
Leedo said, making everyone laugh but Xion, who pouted.

"Awww~ but hyung you know I love that movie!"

"I refuse. I'd be fine with either of the other two but I refuse to watch Frozen."

"Fine! Then we have to watch Mulan. Moana is great and all, but I'm a sucker for a romantic ending."  
Xion said dreamily, his sniffles now stopped.

Seoho laughed at their maknae's cuteness.   
"Then it's decided. We're watching Mulan."

They all got up and left the company, and then traveled home in their van, laughing and talking the entire way home, the chaos from earlier somehow was now forgotten. Thanks to all of the members of ONEUS trying to be positive despite the situation, they were able to turn a bad day into a good day.

As Ravn made the popcorn, the members snuggled up on their couch and popped in the Mulan disc, excited to watch the movie. Of course, their excitement didn't stop them from feeling the exhaustion of the long day, and by the end of it only Ravn and Seoho remained awake. They giggled about how cute Xion looked, mouth slightly open as he clutched against Hwanoong, who was using Xion as a headrest. Not wanting to disturb them, they turned off the tv and joined them on the couch, and they all slept peacefully that night next to each other.

*************************************************************************************************************************************************************************************

Thanks for reading chapter 2! I don't think I'll keep with this one-chapter-a-day thing, but since my creative juices were flowing I decided to write it :-)


	3. Trois

What is this weight leaning against me?  
And why is my pillow so hard?  
And... wait, where am I?

Hwanwoong opened his eyes to find himself in the living room. One glance to his side and he could see Xion drooling all over his brand new shirt.  
Ew.  
But also adorable.  
Hwanwoong rolled his eyes. He can't believe his brain just told him that Xion spattering saliva all over his shirt was cute. 

He gently got off of the couch, laying Xion's head down on he cushion. There, now he can get his drool all over that instead of Hwanwoong.  
"Wait... where is everybody?"  
He muttered to himself, looking around the room to find that all the rest of ONEUS was gone. Weird.

Hwanwoong walked around the house, searching for any of the members. First he travelled to the bathroom, not to look for members, but to take a piss. As he was washing his hands, he looked up at the mirror.  
"Oh my god."  
The entire right side of his cheek was dark purple and blue. Their ex-dance instructor really put strength into that hit, huh?  
But Hwanwoong just brushed it off. By now the stinging had stopped, so he figured it would heal on its own if he just let it be.

He then traveled to the kitchen, hungry for some food. When he arrived, he could still make out a lingering scent, which means his members definitely had breakfast without him. Those bastards. They knew breakfast was his favorite meal of the day.  
Then something bright caught his eye on the table. It was a sticky note that read, 'Sorry, you two looked too cute sleeping, so we didn't disturb you. There are portions of breakfast for you to reheat in the fridge. Be home soon, we are all going grocery shopping!'  
Hwanwoong decided to take back his previous statement. He loves his members! Thank god they can all cook so fabulously.

Suddenly Hwanwoong heard a noise.  
"Hyung? Are you making breakfast?"  
Xion had woken up.

"The rest of the members had breakfast and they have the leftovers for us the reheat! If you want to get yourself up and awake, it'll be ready in 5 minutes."  
Hwanwoong told him. Xion yawned and nodded, slowly starting to get off of the couch.

Hwanwoong laughed and started reheating the delicious food. 5 minutes later, and it all was set up on the table. Hwanwoong took his place in a chair.  
"Xion!! Breakfast is on the table!!"

"I'll be there in a minute!!"

Hwanwoong decided to not wait for him and to dig into the food. And, oh my goodness, the taste did not disappoint. Yet again, his fellow ONEUS members were proving to be the best.  
Xion arrived 30 seconds later, pouting.  
"Hyuuung you started without me!"

"Well I wouldn't have if you'd been here on time."

Xion crossed his arms and dropped into his seat, but soon his fake anger was replaced with happiness as he ate his first bite.  
"Mmmmmmm! So. Good."

Hwanwoong nodded and laughed. As they ate their food, they had small talk back and forth, about Mulan (arguing over who was the best character), about the food (absolutely delicious), and about their latest hobbies (both of them had started getting into drawing, although neither were very good quite yet). But soon Xion turned quiet, which started making Hwanwoong feel kind of awkward.  
And then he caught Xion staring at his bruise, which made him self-consciously reach for it, before Xion suddenly said.

"Hwanwoong... I am so sorry for what happened to you. I feel so bad knowing I was the one who caused it. But, that being said, thanks. For sticking up for me when I was too afraid to. Just know that in the future, you've got my back, too. I'll stick up for you whenever you need it, even if it means getting slapped by a middle-aged man who had just gotten dumped by his girlfriend."

Hwanwoong chuckled at Xion's attempted joke.  
"Xion, you don't need to thank me. I just did what was right. And you definitely shouldn't be saying sorry to me. It wasn't your fault at all, okay?"

"Alright. I just needed to get that off my chest."

"I totally understand. Thank you for telling me that, Xion. It means a lot to me."

They smiled at each other, for a moment just living in the moment, before they heard a lock be undone and a door knob turn. They both turned their heads to the noise to see Seoho, Leedo, Keonhee, and Ravn walking in with bags hanging off their arms.

"You're awake! I thought you two might have still been asleep by the time we got back."  
Ravn exclaimed.

"Yeah, you two were in quite a deep sleep."  
Seoho laughed, remembering Xion's drooling,

Hwanwoong and Xion laughed.   
"Nah, Hwanwoong hyung woke up, luckily. The only reason I woke up is because I heard him moving around!"

They all laughed, glad that the atmosphere was bright and happy.

And this atmosphere kept up for the rest of the day. While making lunch, while playing games, and while sitting and talking to each other. The day was going super nicely, and by 7:00, after dinner, everyone was starting to settle down for the day, some going into their room to do stuff alone. Leedo and Hwanwoong decided they weren't done being social and decided to go on a walk. After getting on their masks and hats, and slipping on a jacket since it had gotten cooler now that it was a bit darker, they headed out.

The walk started off super fun. They walked through Haneul Park, where they got to see kids throwing around a baseball and two elderly women knitting on a bench, which they thought was sweet. Then they walked along a river, enjoying the lovely smell of the rushing water. And then they took a walk through the city, enjoying looking at all of the businesses lined on the street. But that's where the day took a turn.

Suddenly Hwanwoong was getting pulled away from Leedo by his arm and into an alley. Hwanwoong was momentarily confused, only being able to smell the heavy amounts of alcohol this person had been drinking, before getting pushed against the brick wall.

"How dare you! B-because of you, I lost my job! Because of you, my life is in the gutters!"

Oh my god, it was their old dance instructor. Hwanwoong, now panicking slightly, remained frozen, trying to be as far away from his disgusting stench as possible.  
Then, he raised his hand, Hwanwoong flinched, expecting it to hit him, but it never came. Instead, he heard the older man get slammed into the ground by Leedo, who punched him a couple of time before standing up and grabbing Hwanwoong, rushing him away from the alley.  
The two of them ran all the way back to outside of the dorm, where they stopped for a moment, breathing heavily.

"I think you should file for a restraining order."

"What?!"

Leedo stared into Hwanwoong's eyes.  
"You heard what I said. That man is obviously a danger to you, and if I hadn't been there-"

"But you were. I'm sure that's a one time thing, what are the chances of ever seeing him again?"

Leedo let out a frustrated sigh.  
"I saw you, Hwanwoong. You were frozen in fear."

Hwanwoong glared at Leedo.  
"It's cause I thought he was going to hit me. It's not unreasonable that I acted that way."

"But there is a chance you'll see him again, and you won't have me to save you."

Hwanwoong shook his head.   
"Let's not make this into a big deal, okay?"

Leedo looked at Hwanwoong with questioning eyes.  
"You're sure you're okay?"  
Hwanwoong nodded.  
"Alright."

Hwanwoong let out a sigh of relief. All this commotion over him was tiring and unneccesary.  
"Can we... not tell the others? Don't want to make them worried."

"If that's what you really want."

"It is."

"Then we'll walk into the dorm like we just had a nice walk, with no ex-dance instructors making an entrance."

Hwanwoong let out a laugh.  
"Sounds good to me."

And the two of them walked into the dorm with smiles on their faces, hoping to leave that part of their life tucked away, to never be brought up again

\------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Thank you for reading!!! And congrats to ONEUS for making it into the final round of Road to Kingdom! Make sure to stream Come Back Home!


	4. Quatre

The members of ONEUS woke up the next morning not at all looking forwards to the day ahead of them. Their schedule was packed, starting at 7 am with vocal work for their delayed comeback and ending at 10 pm with dance practice. Despite what happened two days ago, and Hwanwoong's bruise which was black and blue, their company still had to put them to work otherwise their comeback wouldn't be satisfactory.   
Of course, the members of ONEUS understood that, so instead of complaining and whining they all woke up ass-crack early to groggily stumble into their van and head to the company.

Xion gazed out of the window, surprisingly wide awake despite the rest of his member's dark circles and yawns. He had earbuds in that were playing ONEUS's music, not what he normally listened to (having to dance and sing over and over again to the same song made it much less fun) but he figured out that it helped him get motivated for the day.   
He tapped his foot to the beat as he watched the buildings go by, enjoying looking at all the different people roaming the streets.

A teenager and her mom holding shopping bags from clothing stores.

A man rushing through the streets holding a briefcase, probably to get to work.

An elderly man sitting at a bench, reading a book.

Sometimes Xion wonders what he'd be doing right now if he wasn't an idol. Don't get him wrong, he loves it, but sometimes being an idol can be overwhelming and stressful.  
Xion was so caught in his thoughts he didn't realize that they had arrived to their destination.

"Xion, are you coming?"  
Seoho asked jokingly, poking his shoulder.

Xion laughed a little, winding up his earbuds and slipping them into his pocket.  
"Yeah, sorry hyung. I got lost in thought."  
He gave Seoho a smile before following him out of the car.

All of the members walked inside, now mostly awake with the exception of Keonhee who practically had to be dragged by Leedo. Once they got inside, they headed to the first thing on the agenda, vocal work. Today was the day that they were going to get assigned their parts, so they all went to the studio.

Xion isn't the hugest fan of assigning-parts-day. Often, he didn't get nearly as many lines as his fellow members and it often leaves him feeling a bit useless. he knows that his voice isn't the reason he's in ONEUS, but it still hurts him seeing his members shine so bright with their parts while he only has a small part that could be done by anyone.  
Regardless, there was nothing he could do about it as they all sat together on the couch, facing a vocal instructor.

"As you all know, today we are going to try and divvy up the parts for your new song. I want you to just be comfortable and try your best, which I know all of you will. Today we will start with Leedo."  
Their instructor told them.   
"Since we already know who will be taking which rap part, I'll just have you try the singing parts, alright?"

Leedo smiled and nodded, standing up to get into the studio.  
This continued through Keonhee, Hwanwoong, Seoho, and Ravn without a hitch. But then came Xion's most feared moment.

"Alright Xion, you're up."

Xion gulped and stood up, shakily walking into the studio. Luckily, his members' cheers helped him calm down a little as he slipped on the headphones.  
He heard the music start up and took a deep breath, attempting to calm his nerves. Then it came time to sing.   
He opened his mouth and sang the best he could. Was it great? No. But when he looked out at his members and the vocal instructor, they looked proud.

"Alright Xion, that's good! Now try that part one more time, only make sure to put more power to your voice. It's a killing part."

Xion nodded and retried, this time even better than the last. His nerves were now completely gone, now replaced with happiness and pride.  
This continued throughout his entire session. Once it was done, his members greeted him with cheers and claps. Xion laughed and gave a bow, in the moment extremely excited because he felt like he had a good chance for some lines this comeback where he could show himself well.

ONEUS, now much more hyped up than earlier in the day, then went to their next item on the agenda, which was a meeting with their manager to discuss further on the current situation and to update them on what the plan for the upcoming comeback is.  
They all walked into a room where their manager was seated in a chair in front of 6 chairs for them to sit on. They all took a seat and faced their manager, who had a serious look on his face, not like that was new. Their manager took everything seriously.  
The room remained awkwardly silent for a few seconds while their manager just stared at them, before clearing his throat and looking at a clipboard he was holding.

“Before I go into details, I feel it would be better to save the suspense and just tell you all when we are planning to have the comeback. As of right now we are projecting that we will only have to postpone it 2 weeks, which means the comeback will be in a little over a month and a half.”

The members all smiled and cheered. They were worried that because of the situation it would be postponed longer, which would disappoint their fans. But this was great news!

“And that’s not all. We have searched to try and find an amazing replacement to instruct your dancing, and we think we found the one. His name is Benjamin Ahn. Although this will be his first time instructing a kpop group, since he usually works in America, we think he will be a great fit for the team considering his past work. He will be arriving from America in 3 days and will begin instructing you immediately.”

The members were excited for this as well. A foreigner coming all the way to Korea to instruct them? He must be phenomenal!  
Ravn was the only member who was not sold yet on the idea. He raised his hand, and their manager nodded at him to speak.

“What is his teaching style like? Because I think I speak for everyone when I say we need a teacher who won’t… who can handle stress.”

“That won’t be a problem at all. We’ve heard his style of teaching is effective yet relaxed. He has amazing ratings from celebrities who were taught by him. I can assure you he won’t be an issue.”

Only then did Ravn relax and smile, celebrating with the other members. It seemed like they really hit the jackpot this time. Of course, only time could tell, but all of the members had a feeling this time it wasn’t too good to be true.  
Their manager coughed, trying to get the attention back on him. The members quickly quieted down and turned to him.

“The meeting isn’t over yet. I still have to go through details and scheduling so you will all be prepared for these upcoming weeks.”

Everyone groaned. This is why they hated group meetings.

But, surprisingly, it went by fairly quickly. As did the rest of the day. Because of this newfound energy that seemed to be coursing through everyone, bedtime came way too soon and it left Hwanwoong to lay wide awake in his bedroom that he shared with Seoho. By then Seoho was already asleep, snoring away (which used to annoy Hwanwoong but somehow now soothes him). But Hwanwoong just couldn’t fall asleep.

And since he had nothing to do, he thought.

Usually, thinking is a good thing for Hwanwoong. Sometimes he comes up with stories in his head, or turns on his mental jukebox and plays songs in his head.  
But tonight his brain immediately thought about the situation. He subconsciously held his hand to his cheek, slightly sighing. He thought about almost being beat up, and the awful stench of beer and-

Woahhh there, Hwanwoong. Slow down. Remember, that never happened. 

His thoughts weren’t convinced, but Hwanwoong was now determined to forget about it and fall asleep anyways. And after about an hour of tossing and tuning, his brain finally shut off for the day and he fell into a restless sleep.

*************************************************************************************************************

Oh boy, that took me a while to update this. I kinda lost my motivation for a little bit! But I hope you liked this chapter! Hopefully the next one won’t take a month to finish :/


	5. Cinq

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Just a warning that, not in this chapter, but in the upcoming chapters there will most likely be trigger warnings that I will put in the notes!!!

And just like that, 3 days went by in a flash. And in those 3 days, Hwanwoong’s bruise faded noticeably. Of course, it wasn’t gone, and wouldn’t be for about a week, but now it was only slightly purple and blue. This, along with the upcoming new dance teacher, left everyone in a good mood.   
And because of this good mood, tons of progress was being made on their comeback. Despite their worries about it, working on their dance by themselves was fun and productive. Xion was proud to say that, thanks to his hyungs, he felt extremely confident with how it was all going.

When ONEUS woke up the morning of, everyone was excited, despite them waking up at ass-crack early. Seoho was in such a cheerful mood that he made a small, healthy breakfast for everyone to eat before heading to training.  
After breakfast, they all headed to the van which took them to their company’s building. On the way, Xion listened to some smooth jazz music. He wasn’t exactly sure why he chose that genre today, it just seemed to fit his feelings that morning.  
Even the sky was vibing with him, the sun was bright and the sky was a beautiful, vibrant blue, like what you’d see in a painting. Fluffy clouds were scattered around, but none of them blocked the sun.  
A day as perfect as this couldn’t go wrong.

\-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Why was he suddenly nervous?  
He spent the past 3 days joyously waiting for the new instructor to come, and now that he’ll be here in 5 minutes he suddenly doesn’t want him to come.  
Luckily, it didn’t seem like he was the only one who felt this way. Hwanwoong was biting his nails, and Ravn had a permanent ‘I’m-worried-about-this’ scowl on his face. Keonhee and Seoho, although not showing it outside, appeared to be a bit uncomfortable.   
And of course Leedo was stone-faced. That didn’t mean he wasn’t also worried, he was just great at hiding it.  
The practice room was dead silent for a couple of moments while everyone was stuck in their mind with their worries. It wasn’t until Ravn spoke up that people finally snapped out of their daze.

“I know everyone is worried right now, but remember, he has amazing credentials. I mean, heck, he works in America with some really popular celebrities. His work is known to be good. He’ll be a great addition to our team”

And with those words, everyone eased up a little.

“True, we have nothing to wo~rry about!”  
Xion exclaimed, his voice cracking a bit on the word “worry”, which made his hyungs chuckle but made his blush in embarrassment.

Funnily enough, that alone eased all of the tension in the room. For the remaining 5 minutes they all talked about this and that, just wasting time as they excitedly waited for him to come.  
Suddenly they heard a knock on the door. They went silent, all of them looking at the door with anticipation.  
They heard the doorknob turn.  
The moment of truth.  
The door opened and…

In stepped an extremely handsome man. Like, as in there wasn’t a single flaw about him. He was tall, had dyed blonde hair, chocolatey eyes. He seemed to be mixed in some way, maybe some sort of Korean-European?  
There was one thing, Xion noted, that was off. His smile seemed ungenuine and cocky. But he just brushed it off as his nerves from earlier.

“Hello everyone. I am your new dance teacher, Benjamin Ahn. You can call me Mr. Ahn. It’s nice to meet you!”  
He exclaimed, bowing to the members who bowed back.

“We’re honored to have someone as experienced and talented as you to teach us,”  
Ravn said, smiling at Mr. Ahn.

“Honestly, it’s more of an honor to be teaching a kpop group as amazing as ONEUS.”  
Benjamin said with a chuckle, heading to the first member in line, Seoho, to shake their hands.   
He went down the line until reaching Xion at the end. The other members were already talking amongst each other excitedly, so no one saw the weird look Benjamin gave to Xion, or the way he held onto Xion’s hands a bit too tight and a bit too long.  
Xion’s skin prickled up after that interaction, looking at his members who weren’t paying attention, and then back to Mr. Ahn who was now acting normally and trying to get their attention, like nothing happened.  
Did nothing happen? Was it all in his head?  
For the second time that day, Xion shook off the bad vibes he got, convincing himself that it was nothing and that he was being silly.

From there, their practice went as normal. Nothing out of the ordinary happened.  
And, yes, Benjamin was a fantastic teacher. He was somehow both stern and relaxed. It really made them, especially Hwanwoong and Xion, feel more assured about the situation.  
Everyone seemed to love him. He was a huge upgrade from their previous teacher.

And yet there was still an itch at the back of Xion’s mind telling him this guy was bad news. Xion blamed this on their previous dance teacher for giving him trust issues, although deep down he knew there was more to it than that.

But the rest of the day went wonderfully. Their spirits were high for the entirety of the day. The excitement even lasted until they got back to their dorms. Dinner was filled with ecstatic talks.  
From everyone but Xion, who was happy but couldn’t join in the excitement.  
Leedo, who was sitting to his right, noticed.

“Are you alright? You seem quiet…”  
He said quietly to Xion.

Xion just smiled and chuckled at him.  
“I don’t know, I think I might just need a little bit more time to warm up to Mr. Ahn.”

Leedo nodded and smiled, ruffling Xion’s hair.  
“That makes sense. Remember, you can tell me anything, alright?”

Xion debated talking about the glance and the handshake, but decided against it, instead opting to nod and continue eating his food.  
Later he would end up wondering if he should have spoken up then. 

++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++

Hope you enjoyed this chapter! We’re starting to get into the real juice of this story! A bit of foreshadowing for the upcoming chapters at the end hehe :)


	6. Six

As the days went on, nothing out of the ordinary happened inside or outside of dance practice. It even got to the point that Xion convinced himself that he’s insane and nothing weird ever happened with the new instructor.  
The weirdest thing that happened since that day was once he caught Mr. Ahn staring at him. But even that Xion wondered if it was all in his head.  
And now, a week and a half later, Xion was feeling much more comfortable with him. It also helped that Benjamin was truly a fantastic teacher. In fact, he was so good, that ONEUS was completely prepared to do the music video shoot, which was tomorrow.

Suffice to say, ONEUS’s mood was very lively. As was Mr. Ahn’s, who was smiling brightly as ONEUS came in for their final practice before shooting.

“Okay, everyone, gather around.”  
He said, motioning his hand for them to gather.  
“So, I talked to your manager, about how great practice has been going and how you all got the choreography down and…”  
He paused dramatically, a grin on his face.  
“He’s agreed that you all can end practice early so you can have some rest before vocal practice if we all feel comfortable.”

All of the members of ONEUS cheered. Although usually they would take the time to do more practice, it was true that they have had the dance pretty much down for the last couple of days. And a rest would be very helpful. They had been working nearly nonstop.  
This just goes to show how amazing of a teacher Mr. Ahn was. For most comebacks, they have to use that time plus more to ensure they were ready to go. 

“Remember, that means you can not slack off right now. We have to agree together we’re ready, and that includes me. I do not intend to be easy on you.”  
ONEUS knew what they had to do.

Run-through number 1 started. Although Hwanwoong and Leedo were relaxed and assured (they had the dance ready for nearly a week, with them being the best dancers and all), but Ravn, Keonhee, Seoho, and especially Xion were all nervous. Not like they had to be, but the pressure of the situation made them a bit stiff.

Benjamin noticed this, of course, but he decided to let it go for now. They had one free pass, and they just used it.

Run-through number 2 went much more smoothly. Ravn and Keonhee were much more relaxed, with only Seoho and Xion still feeling the nerves. But, still no mistakes.  
Run-through 4-6 went pretty much the same, but Seoho loosened up by number 5.

Run-through 7 was by far the best one they did. They got every angle down, the formations were flawless, and even their facial expressions were perfect. There was only one flaw.

Xion.

And Xion knew it, too. He knew he was the weak link. He knew he was still dancing stiffly, and although it was slightly from nerves he had to admit that the main reason was his dancing ability rather than nervousness.  
The rest of ONEUS also noticed. Although proud of how they did, everyone was worried how the dance teacher would react to Xion’s stiffness.

The music looped again, so Mr. Ahn shut it off and cleared his throat.  
“Nice job everyone. That was a really great runthrough. You all are free to leave except Xion; I have something to discuss with you.”

Although spirits should have been high, because their dance teacher obviously thought they did well, they were all still worried for their maknae, who was shaking like a leaf with a serious expression on his face.  
The members hesitated to leave, but Benjamin shooed them away. They all scurried out of the room.

Xion gulped, now looking at his feet.  
He heard footsteps approaching him. Suddenly Xion felt a hand on his chin lifting it up to look at Mr. Ahn.

“Hey, you aren’t in trouble, your dancing is really improved.”

Xion blinked, confused.  
“I’m not?”  
Then why was he here?

Benjamin smiled with his too-perfect teeth.  
“I just noticed you’re still a bit stiff. I used to have the same problem. But then I was taught a warmup to do before dancing that really helped me loosen up. It worked for me, so it might work for you.”

Xion’s nervous expression turned into a joyous one.  
“Really!? Um, thanks!”

Mr. Ahn nodded, letting go of his face (his hand was on Xion’s face for a while) and moved behind Xion.   
“So first we start with a basic ‘touch your toes’. I feel like it’s a nice, easy place to start.”

Xion nodded and reached down for his toes. He couldn’t quite touch, but he was close.

“Now stay there until I tell you to stop.”  
Xion stayed right in that position with his eyes closed, concentrating on the stretch. Making sure to remember how it felt so he did it properly later.  
He was anticipating Mr. Ahn to tell him to stop after like 10 seconds. But the clock just kept ticking and he waited. He was confused so he opened his eyes and was about to ask if he was supposed to stay so long when he saw it in the mirror.

Mr. Ahn’s eyes were directed right at his ass. And he wasn’t being discreet about it, as he shamelessly licked his lips while staring.  
A wave of uncomfort passed through Xion. This is disgusting, humiliating, and not to mention absolutely inappropriate.

Xion thought back to the first day he met Mr. Ahn, his weird gaze and the weird handshake. That wasn’t all in his head? He was right about this creep?  
But… his members loved Mr. Ahn. Even he had to admit, he was a fantastic teacher.   
Should he say something? Or leave it be. I mean, it wasn’t like his stares were harmful. But also, what if it became more than just stares?

Xion ended up not having to make that decision.  
“Time’s up! Let’s move onto the next stretch, shall we?”

Xion laughed nervously, trying to act natural.  
“Yeah, sure.”

\-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Mr. Ahn finally let him go after 20 minutes of learning stretches. The creepy looks didn’t end at the toe-touch. Almost every single stretch Xion caught Benjamin looking at his ass. And for the ones where he couldn’t, he took every opportunity he had to touch Xion, saying he had to “fix his form” which was utter bullshit.

He left the room as fast as possible while still being normal, not to raise suspicion (as if Xion was the one who had to worry about that). As he expected, one of his members was waiting for him in the hallway.

“Hey, you’re finally out! Hope he didn’t scold you too bad.” Keonhee exclaimed, wrapping his arm around Xion’s shoulder and starting to walk down the hall.

Xion decided to try and forget what had happened, plastering a smile on his face.  
“Actually, surprisingly, he didn’t even scold me! Just taught me stretches to loosen up, since I was stiff during the dance.”

Keonhee nodded.  
“That makes sense. Do you think they’ll work?”

Definitely not. He specifically made him do stretched that showed off his ass,  
“Hopefully! He said they worked for him.”

“Well that’s good! Everyone else is waiting in the lounge. Now that we’ve got some free time, we’re thinking of maybe doing a board game? If you’re feeling up to it.”

Xion sighed, suddenly realizing how tired he felt.  
“Nah, I’m pretty tired. I think I’ll just take a nap.”

“Alright if you say so. But just so you know, you'll be missing out on a ton of fun,”  
Keonhee said playfully, rounding the corner to the lounge where they were all waiting.

Xion thought for a minute, looking at all of their excited faces. But he knew that if he did, he would just bring down the mood. He was suddenly fatigued for no reason.  
“Nah, I’m exhausted. It would be better for me to rest so I’m pumped up for the next thing on our schedule.”

Everyone looked a little disappointed, but understood. They had all been there before, utterly exhausted and just wanting to take a nap.  
Xion was grateful that everyone understood. He picked a spot on a couch and laid down, letting the darkness engulf him, still feeling a little off-balance.

\-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Ahhhhh! It took so long to complete this, my apologies. I had this sitting, finished, in my google drive and I totally forgot to upload it. But, here it is! I hope the wait was worth it :)


End file.
